


A Lingering Love

by minweasel



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Angst for a lil bit but also fluff, F/F, Henelope brotp, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Posie is endgame, Post Posie breakup from Penelope's eyes, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:08:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 20,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24714349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minweasel/pseuds/minweasel
Summary: {My version of events of how legacies and Penelope & Josie's continued after 1x06. There is no merge in this story}Josie and Penelope have a fight after 1x06 where Josie confronts her about her intentions with the kiss that they shared. When Penelope is unable to give a straight answer, Josie gets mad and assumes that Penelope was manipulating her. But Penelope can't really tell Josie why she kissed her. She can't tell her that she couldn't stop herself. She couldn't tell Josie how much she missed her and just wanted to cry in her arms and how much she just wants Josie to hold her and tell her how it's going to be okay. Penelope is supposed to be the strong one, the one that saves Josie, not the one that needs saving.
Relationships: Penelope Park & Josie Saltzman, Penelope Park/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 71
Kudos: 194





	1. She Was a Mess

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 1  
> Penelope manages to keep a straight face around Josie and keep herself in check after the breakup. After 1x06, Josie confronts Penelope about their kiss who can't give a straight answer.
> 
> (This chapter does talk a bit about self-harm and anxiety so if that triggers you in any way, maybe this isn't the FIC for you)

Penelope sits in the library with her friends, well minions more like. She's pretending to be engaged in the story that Sasha is telling but she stopped paying attention the second Josie walked into the room. Her eyes searching for something, or more specifically, someone. 

Penelope stares unashamedly at Josie, taking in her beauty. It might be early in the morning, and she might only be in her regular uniform, but Penelope couldn't help it.

Josie continues to look around the room when her eyes meet Penelope's. Seeming to find the someone she was looking for, Josie starts storming towards her. Penelopes eyes widen and her brain struggles to catch up with the situation. The look in Josie's eyes told Penelope that nothing good would come out of this.

Penelope's minions also seemed to take note of the situation. They stared up at Josie ready to defend Penelope at a seconds notice but at the death glare they receive from Penelope, they get up and leave. The rest of the scattered students across the library get the memo and follow them out too.

"Josie," Penelope says, putting on her game face, "to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Josie's eyes burned into her soul, she looked angry. Josie was angry.

"I have a question," Josie said, a certain air of determination in her voice.

"Shoot," Penelope said, although she did have an idea where this was going.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ABOUT PENELOPE?" Josie yelled, taking Penelope by surprise and seemingly herself too. Josie took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down and decides to repeat herself. "What was that about? Last night I mean. Because last time I checked, you broke up with me. You broke MY heart. You ended things. You can't do this!" Her temper was rising again as she tried to keep herself under control.

"Josie, Listen-" Penelope started, but she was cut off.

"No. Let me finish." 

All Penelope could do was nod dumbly. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Josie was supposed to stand up to Lizzie, not her, but she let Josie finish.

"You broke my heart," Josie repeated, struggling to find the words to articulate what she was trying to say, "I finally start getting over you and you kiss me? What do you want from me? Am I just some game to you?" She paused, "Why did you kiss me?"

The last question kept ringing in Penelope's head, she wasn't expecting Josie to be so direct. And she was by no means ready for the pleading look the brunette shot her. There was neither anger nor contempt behind the words. It was a plea for help. One that broke Penelope.

"I... Listen..." Penelope stuttered, "I don't... I didn't mean... You... I mean, I... I..."

She didn't know what she was supposed to say here. Was she supposed to tell her it was all a game? Or would Josie see right through her? Was she supposed to say that she was still in love with Josie? No. That would raise too many questions that Penelope would be unable to answer. So she stayed quiet, using her eyes to plead with Josie, asking her to let it go.

This plea surprised Josie. This lack of a witty comeback, the smirk missing from Penelope's face. And if Josie wasn't so confused, she would have noticed the icing on top of the cake. She would have noticed the cracks in Penelope's armor and she might have poked. She might have gotten to watch Penelope's plan fall apart in front of both their eyes. 

But Josie didn't see the cracks. She may have seen a second of weakness, but she chose to ignore it. She chose to ignore the voice in her head, telling her to read more into every sign Penelope was giving her. She was too confused and angry because she didn't understand why Penelope wouldn't give her a straight answer or any answer at all.

Penelope was at a loss. She can't really tell Josie why she kissed her. She can't tell her that she couldn't stop herself. She couldn't tell Josie how much she missed her and just wanted to cry in her arms and how much she just wants Josie to hold her and tell her it's going to be okay. Penelope is supposed to be the strong one, the one that saves Josie, not the one that needs saving.

"So I was right then," Josie said, breaking the silence, "I am just a game to you."

"No, Josie-" Penelope stood up but was cut off and was sort of glad because she had no clue where she was going with that sentence.

"What I don't understand, is why you won't own up to it. Is it supposed to real me in more? Is it some new mind game?" Josie chuckled, "And here was me thinking you could stoop no lower. Because god help me Penelope, the last thing you need is another boost to your ego."

Josie paused to breath but continued. "And here is one more thing I don't get, why me? What was so special about me that you decided to break me? Is it because I'm the headmaster's daughter? Is it because I'm Miss goodie-two-shoes? Did you want to get me a bad streak?"

When Penelope just continued to stare up at her, a soft, pleading expression on her face, Josie scoffed, not seeing Penelope's hands bleeding from the half-moon crescents that her nails were pressing into her hands so hard to stop her from running into the younger girl's arms.

Josie gave Penelope one last searching look and turned around, storming out of the library.

Penelope broke. The tears she had been holding back for their entire conversation - since they broke up, really - came pouring out, the blood dripping from her hands long forgotten as she used them to rub her eyes, smothering her face with blood.

As Penelope realized this, she panicked, her breathing intensifying as she started to hyperventilate. She was having a panic attack.

Everything was going blurry, her sight along with her thoughts. She was spiraling and she was crashing. There was no light at the end of the tunnel, no Josie waiting at the end of it. Up until this point, Penelope had still hoped that once Josie had started standing up for herself, she would understand why Penelope did everything she did and would come back to her. But Penelope could now see, that that was never going to happen. She lost Josie. She lost the love of her life. She lost the one person she cared about most in the world. Somewhere along the way, through their wreck of a breakup, through Penelope trying to help Josie, she had lost her.

She was a mess, a complete and utter wreck. Nobody could see her like this. So she ran. Ran from the library, ran from the school, ran into the woods to find the clearing that she had so often used to help herself calm down, blood dripping from her hands, all of her books and classwork long forgotten.

Except, this time, something had changed. Someone had seen her running from the school. Someone had followed her. And that someone was Hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think :)


	2. You Called Me Penelope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Penelope and Josie fight, Penelope breaks down and Hope finds her crying and broken, holding an old polaroid picture of her and Josie back when they were together. 
> 
> Italic font - a memory

Penelope ran, ran from the library, ran from the school, ran into the woods to find the clearing that she had so often used to help her calm down, blood dripping from her hands, all of her books and classwork long forgotten. 

Except, this time something had changed. Someone had seen her running from the school. Someone had followed her. And that someone was Hope.

Penelope fell against a tree, her body slacked and sliding down towards the floor, the sharp bark of the tree scraping down her back as she fell, drawing blood. She let the tears fall, didn't even try to hold them in because she knew she couldn't. 

Penelope reached into the inside pocket of her wrecked cape and out came a folded up photo. Her hands smeared the image with blood and tears fell onto it as Penelope unfolded it. She would clean it up with a spell later.

The photo was one Lizzie had taken of them on their 6-month anniversary. 

_"Come on Lizzie, Just one picture and then you can leave us alone," Penelope said whilst winking at Josie._

_"Oh my god ew!" Lizzie shrieked, a disgusted look on her face as Josie blushed, "Not an image I needed in my head, Penelope!"_

_Josie and Penelope just stared at her, Penelope's mouth actually dropped, the look of shock on her face echoed on Josie's._

_"Oh my god," Josie started, a barely audible whisper, "did she just..." but her words faded away._

_"She did." Penelope nodded dumbly._

_Lizzie was a bit confused, she gave the two of them a curious look as she asked, "What did I do?"_

_"You called me Penelope," Penelope stated dumbly, still looking dumbfounded._

_Up until now, from the beginning of her and Josie's relationship, Lizzie had refused to call Penelope by her name. She only ever called her 'Satan', 'Evil one' 'She-devil' or when she was feeling extra angsty, 'The dark lord'. She never really liked the idea of sharing Josie with anyone, no matter how happy they made her. Or did she?_

_Maybe she was coming around to the idea of Penelope's relationship with Josie. She may still be selfish but perhaps she was making baby steps._

_"Oh," Lizzie said dumbly, her face now mirroring their shock, as she tried to cover up, she continued, "well, it's um... a special occasion."_

_"Not helping your case Lizzie," Josie said in a false accusatory tone, the look of sheer happiness on her face was evident._

_"Just give me the dam camera Josie," Lizzie said, reaching towards her, attempting to move the conversation forward, but Penelope and Josie weren't going to let it go that easily._

_"Buh buh buh..." Josie said, pulling the camera out of Lizzie's reach, "this calls for a celebration!"_

_"Uh-huh!" Penelope continued, Josie looked so adorable when she was happy and excited, her face lighting up the room, "Anyone got a drink to use as a toast?"_

_Josie gave her a stern look but upon seeing that Penelope was joking, she laughed._

_"Listen, me willingly taking a photo of you two should be celebration enough," Lizzie said sarcastically, but her voice held no real contempt."_

_"Fine, but this will come back to haunt you," Josie said, laughing as she passed over the old polaroid camera._

_As Lizzie played around with the polaroid, setting it up for the photo, Josie and Penelope were posing. An idea struck Penelope as she said, "How about you get on my back? It'll look cute."_

_As Josie hopped on her back, a wide smile on her face, Lizzie asked, "Seriously Penelope, could you get any more cliche?"_

_"You know," Penelope responded, turning her head up and slightly to the left to look at Josie who was now on her back, "I could get used to this whole 'Penelope' thing."_

_Josie laughed and Lizzie looked liked she wanted to fade away into oblivion._

_"Whatever," Lizzie said, eyes looking anywhere but them, "Let's just get this over with."_

_She took two photos, a genuine laugh present on their faces in both. She handed one to each of them as Josie hopped off of Penelope's back._

_"You look adorable," Penelope said, looking up from the photo._

_Josie blushed and looked away so Penelope kissed her cheek and Josie smiled. Lizzie, on the other hand, pretended to vomit._

_"I'm gonna leave you two alone," Lizzie said, "I can't watch, It's disgusting."_

_As Lizzie walked off, Penelope shouted after her, "But you love us!"_

_Josie and Penelope laughed falling onto the floor, staring into each other's eyes_ _._

_"Happy anniversary Jojo."_

Penelope remembered that day like it was yesterday. It had been the day that she had told Josie that she loved her for the first time and Josie told her that she loved her too. It was the best day of her life. Now it was just a reminder of what she had and lost.

It was then that Hope came into view. Hope had been in her room when she saw Penelope through the window so she had only found Penelope a good minute after she arrived.

Penelope hadn't seen her yet when Hope's eyes look over to the photo in Penelope's hands, her face softening. She leans down towards Penelope, and she hugs her. Hope doesn't ask for an explanation right now because she knows that Penelope was in no state to talk.

Although Penelope's eyes were still blurry and she didn't have an excellent grasp on reality at that moment, she could still see enough of the long auburn hair to identify the girl hugging and comforting her as Hope. 

Had Penelope been in any other situation, she would have recoiled from the touch, but today, she melted into it and let herself be held by Hope. There was nothing romantic about it, it was just Hope doing her best to help Penelope, the closest person she had to a friend at this school apart from Josie and MG.

Although Penelope had lost time and had no long they had been there, Hope only had to take one look up at the darkening sky to know that they had been there for over an hour. 

After another hour, the sky was pitch black and Penelope's breathing started to slow, her grip on Hope slackening as she drifted towards sleep. However, Hope didn't let her go. She just continued to hold Penelope. She leaned against a tree and started to drift off herself, knowing that it was a Saturday night and that she had nowhere to be the following day. Where she needed to be at that moment was with Penelope.

Sometime later, Hope didn't know how long because it was still dark, she woke up, her body was a bit stiff from sleeping against a tree. She looked around, confused before her eyes landed on Penelope and she remembered the night before.

Hope performed a spell on Penelope to clear the blood from her face because she had forgotten to do it last night. And slowly, Penelope began to wake up too. 

Penelope opened her eyes and she looked up at Hope. She slowly sat up and looked away from her, seemingly embarrassed.

"Thanks," Penelope muttered.

"Anytime," Hope smiled, "What happened? Do you want to talk about it?"

As Penelope remained silent, Hope continued, "I won't push, but I know it has something to do with Josie because of the photo you were holding."

Penelope looked around for the said photo but couldn't find it, a look of panic evident on her face.

"Don't worry," Hope said, "I got it," And she passed the photo over to Penelope, "As I said, I won't push, but you CAN talk to me. You know that right?"

Penelope nodded.

"I've been through some shit Penelope, you know that," Hope continued, "I would never judge you. And I'm not a part of your inner circle either and I'd have no one to share your secrets with if you did tell me anything."

"I know you like to consider yourself the head-bitch or something," Hope laughed weakly, looking Penelope directly in the eyes, "But it's okay to not be okay."

Penelope let those words run through her mind, considering them. Was she okay? No, she was not, by no means was she okay. She wanted so badly to talk to Hope and to let it all out. She just wanted to cry and cry and cry because last night wasn't enough.

She knew that Hope wouldn't push if she wasn't ready to talk but she was scared. Scared for her plan, scared for her image, so no. She wouldn't talk to Hope, she couldn't talk to Hope.

"Thanks," Penelope said, her usual air of arrogance wafting off of her again, "But no thanks. It's late, I should go back." And she walked away.

Hope made no move to stop her, instead, she let her walk away, a curious expression on her face. She had never seen Penelope in this light and to be honest, it scared her a bit.

Hope now knew that Penelope's act of seeming all put together was just that. An act. And as much as she still needs to learn about Penelope, she does know one thing. Following Penelope now and forcing her to talk would get her nowhere, so instead, she makes a mental note to figure out what was going on with the girl and look after her because she just got a glimpse of a side of Penelope that she didn't know existed, one that was open and weak. It hurt Hope to see because she used to be like that too. 

Back when Hope was 'Hope Marshall' she used to do the same thing. She walked around like she owned the place and she acted all put together when behind closed doors, she was broken. She saw herself in Penelope and that was how Hope knew that there was something seriously wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think :)


	3. She Wouldn't Push

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They go back to normal classes and Hope tries to talk to Penelope but she is avoiding her. What happens when they get paired together in class?
> 
> For a context standpoint, Hope and Landon kinda had a thing but its over, and they already know that he is a phoenix.

Penelope and Hope hadn't spoken about what happened in the clearing that night. Penelope had hoped that Hope would just forget about it. And even though she didn't know Hope all that well, she knew there was no way in hell Hope was going to do that, so she started avoiding her.

For Penelope's part, she did do a good job of it. To anybody who wasn't looking for it, it would merely look like a regular day at the Salvatore school considering Hope and Penelope rarely ever interacted, but Hope could tell that the witch was avoiding her. She may be subtle and she may be good, but she's wasn't that good, and Hope wasn't blind.

To say that Hope was confused would be an understatement. Last she heard, Penelope left Josie. Penelope broke Josie's heart, not the other way around. So what was that on Saturday night? What was she missing?

Over the following week, Hope started noticing the cracks in Penelope's armor. Even though she saw her break down, that had happened outside of school. She had never seen Penelope show any signs of weakness around her minions and Josie, but perhaps it was all getting too much and she could no longer hold it in.

Despite all evidence to the contrary that Penelope presented at school, Hope knew that something was up and that the last thing Penelope was, was okay. She had watched as Penelope fell apart in her arms, clinging to her like she was the only thing keeping her alive. She watched as Penelope put her guard back up at school, watched as she feigned perfection and arrogance that Hope now knew even she didn't believe she had. 

It was evident that Penelope was still in love with Josie. The look of sheer terror on her face when Hope told her that Josie had been buried alive in the cemetery was proof enough of that, but now, with the memory of Saturday night still hanging heavy in her head, she now knew it was more than that. More than Penelope still being in love with Josie.

She watched as Penelope flinched whenever someone brought up Josie's name and stood up for her to her minions every time they said something remotely bad about her. And for the first time, Hope noticed the longing looks that Penelope shot Josie from across the room when she thought no one was looking. 

____

On the Friday following Penelope's breakdown, Penelope walked into her chemistry of magic class, not expecting to see a girl with long auburn hair sitting in the back corner seeing as they had already had this class once this week and Hope was not in it. But she supposed that Hope must have been off fighting some monster last time. 

Penelope did her best to stay calm as she sat down in her usual seat across from Sasha. This was the first time she had allowed herself to be in a confined space with Hope since her breakdown and she could practically feel Hope's eyes digging into the back of her own head.

"No need to unpack your books today," Mr. Williams said, walking into the room, "we'll be doing a practical class. You will be working in pairs," he paused and Penelope raised her eyebrows at Sasha, a silent question passing between them, answered with a nod from Sasha, "which I will be choosing."

The entire class groaned and Penelope's silent agreement with Sasha broke. He started to list of pairs of mismatched people from across different sides of the room. Penelope was the last there, all alone without a partner, or so she thought. She took a look around the room to see if there was anybody left when her eyes landed on Hope sitting in the corner who was already staring back at her.

"And Penelope, that leaves you with Hope." Penelope shot Hope a panicked look and Hope's expression softened, a comforting smile on her face, one that told Penelope no matter how much she wanted to know what was going on with the girl, right now, she wouldn't push, "Okay... so, get into your pairs, we will be practicing the reversed pronunciation of simple incantations, no need to take notes, we will do that next class." 

As everyone moved around the room and sat down he added, "Okay then, get to work."

Penelope and Hope made some small talk about how dumb it was that they couldn't choose their own partners and how much work they had to do, occasionally doing the work if they felt like it. They were the two best witches in the class so 'when they felt like it' turned out to be whenever Mr. Williams was watching.

Penelope was surprised at how well they got along. Aside from when they saved Josie and when Hope had comforted her, they had never really talked, let alone spent the entirety of a class talking. On Hope's part, however, this was the first time she had an in-depth conversation with anyone at this school. I mean yes she talked to Josie and got along well with MG, but apart from that, she didn't really talk to anybody - especially in classes, - so this was a first.

She could tell that Penelope wasn't ready to open up to her yet from the moment she walked into the class which is why she never spoke about what happened last Saturday night. It wasn't like she was playing Penelope just to find out what had happened, the truth was that she found herself enjoying Penelope's company and wanted to get closer to her. Although she did want to help Penelope somewhere along the line, she knew that now just wasn't the time, so she let it go.

"Wait, hold up," Penelope said, a confused look on her face, "Whatever happened to bird boy? I thought you two had a thing going on."

"What makes you think that we don't still?" Hope asked, deflecting the question.

"Well," Penelope responded, "for starters, you never talk to anybody at school, you're a bit of a loner, no offense." Hope only scoffed in response.

"But," Penelope continued, drawing out the word, "when he arrived here, you two were attached at the hip and now? Well... you're not."

"Awww, has somebody been looking out for me?" Hope asked in a mock baby voice.

"Oh shut up, you know what I mean."

"Honestly, the story isn't really that interesting. I liked him, he liked me, we had a thing but it didn't work out."

"Well that's boring," Penelope pouted, "You need to get a life."

"Thanks for the support," Hope laughed and Penelope joined in. They hastily stopped to cast a quick spell as they saw Mr. Williams leaving another table to go have a look around, a grin still evident on both their faces.

The rest of the class carried on in a similar fashion, them sharing playful banter and poking fun at each other. As the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day, they stood up, packing up a few of their belongings scattered across their desk. Penelope and Hope were still deep in conversation so they took a little longer to pack up than the others. 

When they eventually swung their bags over their backs and looked up, they found an empty classroom. Had they really taken that long? They simultaneously looked up at the clock on the wall and found it was ten minutes past dismissal time. They both laughed and began to head out the door. 

In the blink of an eye, Hope watched Penelope's entire demeanor change. Hope actually wasn't surprised when she looked up and saw Josie storming towards them, well actually just Penelope.

The two of them backed into the classroom and Josie followed, slamming the door shut behind them, practically locking them in. Josie wore a similar look of determination to last week's confrontation but Penelope was by no means ready for this one. At last time she had seen it coming, this time, however, she had absolutely no clue what she could have done.

Hope stepped back a bit from Penelope but stayed in the room, letting her talk to Josie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think :)


	4. What I Needed Someone To Say To Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Penelope and Josie fight again. Penelope struggles to remain calm and stay in control of her magic. Thankfully, Hope is there to help.
> 
> Italic Font - Memory

As Hope and Penelope packed up their belongings at the end of class and began walking out the door, Hope watched as Penelope's entire demeanor changed in a blink of an eye. Hope was pretty confident she knew what caused this change, so when she looked up and saw Josie storming towards Penelope, she showed no sign of shock on her face.

Penelope on the other hand was completely bewildered. Last time they had fought, Penelope knew exactly why, she may have even thought that she deserved it, but this time? She was lost. What had she done?

Hope was almost confident that Josie hadn't even noticed her so she slunk away into the corner of the room. Far enough away to ensure that Josie wouldn't take note of her but close enough to Penelope that the raven-haired girl would keep in mind that Hope was there for her.

"Jojo," Penelope started, "Wha-" but she was cut off.

"You know what Penelope, I am perfectly capable of handling myself!" Josie yelled, actually yelled, "I don't need you running in and saving me like a damsel in distress."

Penelope was still confused, so she asked, "Josie, what are you talki-" but she was cut off yet again. 

"Don't play dumb with me Penelope! I know what you did." Josie continued an enraged look on her face. When Penelope continued to stare blankly up at her she became even more exasperated, "Seriously Penelope? Just own up to it for god's sake, I thought you loved to take credit for your practical jokes! Was saving me from your 'minions' part of the plan or was it just a happy accident?"

At the word of her minions, along with the help of Josie's 'damsel in distress' comment, Penelope seemed to put two and two together. She thought back on the past few days and the interactions with her so-called 'minions'.

__

_"Did you guys hear?" One of the girls at her lunch table asked, "Josie's crushing on Rafael, apparently she's happy with being Lizzie's second best."_

_The entire table broke into whispered conversations, Penelope caught on to a few comments that got her attention. Namely, "How desperate can she get?"_

_"Enough!" Penelope yelled before her brain could catch up with her mouth, the entire table gave her a strange look. Had anybody else in their possy made an exclamation like that, they all would have questioned them, but this was Penelope. So they didn't dare, just moved on to the next piece of gossip._

__

Penelope remembered the blush covering her cheeks as one of the girls continued to stare at her for a little too long after her exclamation but chose to let it go. How had Josie gotten word of that? It was such a small interaction that she had completely forgotten about it. 

And what did Josie mean about Penelope saving her from her 'minions'? They called everybody names, surely Josie knew that. But then the second wave of recollection hit her.

__

_Penelope had drowned out the entirety of their conversation, she had been concentrating on the auburn-haired girl_ _in front of her. They were sitting at opposite ends of the cafeteria which was a large room but Penelope couldn't help but be anxious about whatever confrontation Hope was planning. So she had an escape plan ready, should Hope approach her._

_"That's good," One of the girls said, "Penelope, what do you think?"_

_"Sorry?" Penelope asked still confused._

_"Destroying the twin's room." She responded in the most unbearably casual tone that it caught Penelope off guard._

_Come on, Penelope, think! What had they been discussing? She seemed to remember one of them mentioning being stood up in class. Did Lizzie do it? Yes, she thought she must have. But why punish both twins?_

_"What about Josie though?" Trying to keep the note of concern mixed with confusion from her voice._

_"What about her?" One of the girls asked, mildly confused._

_"Well, she didn't do it did she? It was Lizzie."_

_"What's gotten into you, Penelope? Why do you care?" If Penelope hadn't been so focused on the fact that Hope had just stood up and was making her way over to her, Penelope would have come up with a witty excuse, but her mind was too busy for that._

_Before she could think, she stood up from the table, ready to execute her escape plan. But she had to supply some sort of answer right? Well, no, wrong. Her word was law to the girls surrounding her, so all she had to do was say, "It doesn't matter alright? Just figure something else out," she turned around ready to leave, but before she did so, she added, "Something that doesn't include Josie."_

__

Although she had figured out what Josie was talking about, she still didn't understand. Was she no longer allowed to stand up for the girl when she wasn't present to do so herself?

As if Josie had read her mind, she spoke, "You can't do this Penelope. You can't act the 'protective girlfriend' when we both know that you're just toying with me." But they didn't both know that because it wasn't true. Could Josie not see that? Penelope knew she was good at hiding her emotions and true intentions but was Josie really that blind?

Josie just continued her spiel, as though she was trying to drive the point home. But Penelope heard no word of it, she was focusing all her energy on controlling herself. The room was shaking and she was doing everything within her power to stop it from spontaneously combusting. 

Although she couldn't see it, Hope wore a concerned look. Unlike Josie, she looked could not only see but feel the room shaking and she was ready to intervene the second Penelope needed her to.

"Got it, Penelope?" Josie asked. At the lack of a response, she repeated herself, "Got it?"

And although Penelope had no clue what Josie had just said, she nodded dumbly. Josie was so angry this time that she didn't even notice the obvious tears streaming down Penelope's face, she didn't notice how Penelope was wearing the exact same expression she was wearing during their previous fight, one full of sadness and despair and one missing her signature, smug, smirk.

At this confirmation, Josie left, tears on her face now mirroring those on Penelope's. Perhaps that was why she didn't notice how much of a wreck the other girl was.

The room was shaking so violently that some of the books began falling off of the walls and a few of the lights began shattering. Hope rushed towards her, grabbing Penelope's hands which were covered in blood that Penelope had unknowingly drawn. The movement of clenching her fists and pressing those half-crescents into her palms was just second nature to her at this point.

Hope was whispering words into her ears that she couldn't hear, she was just trying to regain control, not noticing that Hope was having to use her supernatural strength to unclench her fists and perform a healing charm on them.

Although Penelope had no clue what Hope was saying, her presence was soothing and helped calm Penelope down enough to bring her back to the land of the living. The room was still shaking and Penelope was still sobbing, but she could now hear every word that Hope was saying.

"I need you to slow your breathing, okay?" Hope said, "Can you do that for me?"

Penelope tried and tried but she simply couldn't, she looked up at Hope, feeling like a helpless child and cried, "I can't, I can't do it!"

"Okay, okay, all you need to do is listen to me," Hope responded, staying calm and level headed no matter how much it hurt her to see someone as strong as Penelope like this.

Penelope just continued to nod like an innocent child, clutching onto Hope like she was the only thing keeping the still shaking room from exploding in front of their eyes.

"Concentrate on the ground, think about the wooden floorboards and the dirt and stone deep below," Hope paused for breath but continued, "Concentrate on your feet and their connection to the ground, imagine that they are your link to reality, keeping you connected to reality. Use it to help you regain control."

So Penelope did just that, she thought about the floor that she was standing on and the way she was connected to it. Then, Slowey but surely, the room stopped shaking and her breathing began slowing.

The thought of being embarrassed crossed her mind but this time, she pushed the thought away and caved in. She hugged Hope, full force, and without thinking, Hope returned the hug and faded away into all things Penelope.

Some people didn't want to be treated with pity, but Penelope never received any of it in her normal life so she welcomed the feeling, she welcomed Hope's strong arms around her, and she welcomed the soft words of comfort that the older girl was whispering into her ear.

Slowly, Penelope looked away, staring deep into Hope's eyes as she asked, "How did you know what to say? I thought you didn't have much experience with human interaction." Penelope may feel comfortable being herself around Hope, but she couldn't help but poke fun at Hope's 'loner vibe'. 

Thankfully Hope just laughed, looking directly at her, the answer ready o her lips. "It's just what I wish someone would have said to me. It's what I needed someone to say to me."

Penelope looked at Hope in shock, surprised that the older girl had actually opened up to her. She was glad for it however because it allowed them to bond over just how screwed up their lives were. It strengthened their friendship. Strengthened it enough for Penelope to feel comfortable opening up to Hope in return.

"Hope, listen" Penelope started, "there's something I need to tell you."

"Is this about last Saturday?" Hope asked, a soft, sympathetic expression on her face.

"Yes, well kind of," Penelope had never actually told anybody this, so to say that she was struggling would be an understatement, "I... I..."

She paused, collecting her thoughts before she finally started in a clear and firm voice and a sad look on her face, "I broke up with Josie becaus-"

But she was cut off by Alaric running into the room, saying something to Hope about a monster problem before leaving the two of them behind.

Hope cursed under her breath and gave Penelope a searching look. 

"Come with me," Hope said, ignoring the blatant look of shock on Penelope's face and continued, "We need to finish this conversation later and I don't want you going back into your shell."

She paused again, looking at Penelope, "Is that okay with you?"

"Yes," She chuckled, "I think I could do with a good fight."

Hope laughed with her, "I agree. We need to find you a better outlet for your emotions."

The two of them fast-walked out the school doors and into the woods where Alaric had said the monster was. They assumed that he had gone to go put the school on lockdown. Hope had been confident that the moment between them would pass and that Penelope would go back to ignoring her after Alaric had burst into the room, but Penelope had surprised her.

As they walked deeper and deeper into the woods, they began hearing noises and loud thumps. after sharing a look, they followed the noises and came to another clearing in the school grounds. 

Their faces bore no signs of shock as they laid their eyes on a large troll-like monster. They did however show a sign of shock when the monster moved, revealing to them two girls sprawled out on the floor, attempting to dodge the fists, feet, and club of the massive green monster hovering above them.

Hope and Penelope both instantly recognized the two girls as the Saltzman twins. They may be witches, but they were also siphons. Siphons too far away from the school building to be able to draw magic from their surroundings.

Their only defense was themselves. And they were losing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think :)


	5. Not the Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the clearing, Hope and Penelope have to fight a monster to protect Lizzie and Josie. The latter being the last person Penelope wanted to see right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Sorry that this update is a day late, my school year finished yesterday so naturally I was celebrating with friends and didn't have time to write another chapter. Sorry about that, I'll upload again at some point in the next 24 hours.)

Penelope had been about to confess to Hope the true reason behind her breakup with Josie when Alaric came running into the room, saying something to Hope about a monster problem before leaving the two of them behind to go deal with the problem.

The two of them left the school walls and went into the woods where Alaric had said the monster was. As they walked deeper and deeper into the woods, they began hearing noises and loud thumps that they followed. 

Their faces bore no signs of shock as they laid their eyes on a large troll-like monster. They did however show a sign of shock when the monster moved, revealing to the two girls who they both instantly recognized the two girls as the Saltzman twins. And they were too far away from the school building to be able to draw magic from their surroundings.

Their only defense was themselves. And they were losing.

Hope instantly shot a spell at the troll-like monster, sending it flying across the clearing and into a tree. Now, Penelope and Hope stood directly in front of the Saltzman twins.

Lizzie and Josie scooted back to put as much distance between them and the troll-like monster as they could.

Hope threw the monster all around the clearing, using the full force of herself in every spell she cast. After the monster had been thrown into its ninth tree, it slumped down, unmoving, appearing unconscious to them all.

Throughout the entire fight, Penelope hadn't moved and neither had her eyes. They were staring at Josie. Hope may have been able to calm her down before now but she still wasn't in a good place and seeing Josie certainly was not helping.

Penelope just stood there, eyes never wavering from Josie who thankfully, hadn't spared her a glance.

"What are you doing here? The school is on lockdown," Hope turned on the twins, Penelope knew that hope wasn't close to very many people at this school but she was close with Josie and friendly with Lizzie so her reaction wasn't surprising.

"We... Uh... We were," Josie spluttered, an obvious attempt at a cover-up.

"We were on a walk," Lizzie piped up. Hope shot them a look but upon seeing the one that Lizzie threw back at her, she decided not to question it. If Lizzie didn't want her to push then she wouldn't.

"We had a bit of magic left in us but we were running low," Lizzie added. She paused for breath and then looked directly into Hope's eyes and said in a soft, timid voice, "Thank you."

This look put Hope a bit off balance but didn't stop her from mumbling a quick "No problem," to Lizzie. She then lent down and began healing Josie - being that she was closer to her. She muttered a few spells under her breath and Josie's cuts and bruises faded, she wasn't a master at these kinds of spells so a few scars still lingered but that was the best she could do. 

She asks Josie if she was okay and the brunette nods, slowly standing up. Hope then moves onto Lizzie and does the same, muttering the same spells under her breath.

It was only then that Josie, now standing, noticed Penelope's presence, along with her lack of involvement in the fight against the troll-like monster. She quickly averted her gaze to Hope and Lizzie, her back to where the monster now lay.

Alaric arrived at the scene and bent down towards Lizzie, asking hurried questions about what happened and if she was okay. Penelope however wasn't listening to the conversation, something from the side of the clearing drew her eye which she finally took off of Josie.

Penelope watched as the monster - which was surely dead a second ago - stood up and began to walk over to them. Penelope's lips were still sealed shut, she felt frozen. She didn't think she could move a muscle or say a word without spontaneously combusting.

Penelope watched as the monster made its way closer and closer to them. She watched as the monster raised its hand, preparing to swipe at the closest thing it could reach. That closest thing just happened to be Josie whose back was still turned to the Monster.

Penelope, although frozen a second ago, manages to move. She sprints forward and dives at Josie. The monster's clawed hand barely misses Josie's neck and sinks its nails into Penelope's chest.

Penelope let out an ear-wrenching scream that shook the walls and when the two of them land on the floor, her breathing began quickening. Penelope's vision was going blurry as the long gash from one side of her chest to the other began bleeding out.

Hope and Lizzie could do nothing to aid her situation until the monster was gone for fear of it doing the same to one of them. They quickly stood and Lizzie grabbed Hope's hand, siphoning magic from her. They begin chanting and the monster gets thrown across the clearing again.

This time, however, the monster gets back up instantly, making its way back over to them. Josie, still lying on the floor, siphons magic from the body next to her, not getting a chance to help the girl before shooting a ball of fire at the head of the monster.

The troll-like monsters' hair begins to burn off, revealing it's the singular eye. It was a cyclops.

"How do we kill it?" Hope asked a little panicked.

"Sharp thing in the eye obviously, don't you read comics?" Lizzie drawled, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"I thought you called that stuff nerd-porn," Hope retaliated, and then backtracked once she looked back at Penelope losing consciousness on the floor, "wait, nevermind... not the time."

Josie was in a similar situation to Penelope before. She was frozen. Her face void of emotion, all she could do was stare at Penelope.

Hope picked up a stick from the floor and surged towards the cyclops. She jumped, higher than humanly possible, and sunk the stick into the cyclops' eye.

The cyclops fell back and Hope stood up.

"Is it dead this time?" Lizzie asked, but before Hope could answer, the cyclops began disintegrating in front of their eyes, answering Lizzie's question for her, "I'll take that as a yes."

Instantly, the two of them along with Alaric turned their attention to Penelope. Hope started panicking, her friend had been bleeding out on the floor and she had done nothing to help. On top of that, she was only good at minor healing spells, nothing like this.

Lizzie saw the panic boiling up in Hope and decided to do the spell herself, using the magic she had already siphoned from Hope. Years and years of glass shattering into pieces around her and sinking themselves into her skin had given her a lot of practice spells like these.

Penelope felt instantaneous relief as the pain left her body and her scar cleaned up. Her shirt was still drenched in her blood and her shirt ruined but that didn't matter.

She made no attempt to move. Although the pain may be gone, the exhaustion that came along with being hit by the cyclops was still there.

Josie on the other hand did stand up and gave Penelope a look that showed confusion, guilt, but most of all, an overwhelming sense of anger. Josie mumbled a quick "Thanks" to Penelope before turning her back. 

Hope had noticed the look that Josie shot Penelope and she didn't like it. Josie may be one of her closest friends and she may love her, but Penelope truly was her blind spot. Josie was selfless to a fault but when it came to Penelope, she practically chucked all of her morals out of the window.

This was why Hope didn't respond when Alaric asked her to come back to school with her to help him deal with the lockdown. She sent a silent question to Penelope through her eyes and Penelope responded with a nod. "Go," Penelope replied, "I'll be fine."

Hope didn't look too sure as her eyes flickered between Penelope and Josie. Penelope watched as Hope's eyes did so before continuing, more firm this time, "Seriously, I'll be okay." 

It was a lie but Hope didn't need to know that. Penelope knew that Hope and Alaric were far too close for Hope to be able to stay behind without him questioning her reasons, so she let Hope go.

Hope shot her one last concerned look before mouthing, "We'll talk later," and turning her back and leaving with Alaric. 

Penelope now lay there on the floor with Lizzie pacing around the clearing and Josie staring directly at her. Penelope wasn't sure which was worse, Josie directly avoiding making eye contact with her - which she had been doing seconds ago - and ceaseless eye content - which she was doing now. Either way, they both scared Penelope. 

Josie opened her mouth to speak and all Penelope could do was brace herself for what was about to come. She was exhausted, weak and she was fragile from her breakdown in class. It was a dangerous combination.


	6. You Could Have Died

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josie is blinded by rage. She couldn't see what was in front of her. She couldn't see the state that Penelope was in so she never thinks twice before going off on her. She fights with Penelope again in the clearing, not quite prepared for the reaction she got.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> {I'm really excited for you to read this chapter, I've been looking forward to writing it ever since I got the idea for this FIC, I hope you enjoy.}

When Hope didn't respond to Alarics's request to accompany him back to school, Penelope knew why. hope didn't want to leave her alone with just the twins. She sent a silent question to Penelope through her eyes and Penelope responded with a nod. "Go," Penelope replied, "I'll be fine."

Hope didn't look too sure as her eyes flickered between Penelope and Josie. Penelope watched as Hope's eyes did so before continuing, more firm this time, "Seriously, I'll be okay."

It was a lie, but Hope didn't need to know that. Hope shot her one last concerned look before mouthing, "We'll talk later," and turning her back and leaving with Alaric.

Penelope now lay there on the floor with Lizzie pacing around the clearing and Josie staring directly at her. Josie opened her mouth to speak and all Penelope could do was brace herself for what was about to come. She was exhausted, weak and she was fragile from her breakdown in class. It was a dangerous combination.

"What did I literally just say?" Josie half yelled, "I don't need you to save me. I don't need your help. You could have died."

The words "So could you," die in Penelope's mouth as she looks up at a vengeful Josie.

Slowly Josie's words all began morphing into one stream of sound. Penelope began blocking it out. She couldn't hear a thing. She only catches a few phrases along the lines of, "I know you're playing me," and "I can't believe you."

It wasn't much, but it was enough. Enough to make the tears well up in her eyes as she pleaded with them not to fall. But her body didn't listen. Josie was so angry that she forgot to actually look at Penelope who was a complete and utter mess.

Subconsciously, Penelope's hands curled into fists and she began drawing blood.

She was broken, she was torn down, she was fighting to stay in control. Every good thing in her life flashed before her eyes as they were taken away. The ground was shaking and all she could do was delay the inevitable. She was going to explode.

It was at this point, while Josie was still yelling at Penelope, that Lizzie felt the ground shake. The same shake she felt whenever she was on the verge of another episode. But she was fine, she felt completely fine. So she looked up and saw Penelope, and the last thing the girl in front of her was, was fine.

As Lizzie watched the tears fall from Penelope's face, as she watched the blood drip from Penelope's clenched fists, as she watched Penelope's entire body begin to shake, fighting to stay in control of her mind, body, and magic, something clicked. Something in her mind clicked that hadn't clicked in her sister's. 

Josie was so blinded by rage that she couldn't see what Lizzie saw. And what Lizzie saw was a bit of herself in the girl standing before her. A scared, young teenage girl, about to break.

It was then that Lizzie's mind flashed back to when Penelope and Josie were in a relationship. She flashed back to them holding hands in the corridor, flashed back to them splashing each other in the lake by the school, flashed back to their six-month anniversary where she herself took a photo of the couple, and she remembered. Penelope turned into the sweetest, kindest and most selfless human being Lizzie had ever seen when she was with Josie. And Lizzie had Josie for a sister.

So what clicked in Lizzie's brain wasn't only the state that Penelope was in, but also that there was something clearly wrong here. 

Penelope had walls, impenetrable walls that nobody could tear down. But Josie did. Penelope had armor, strong armor that nobody could crack. But here was Josie doing just that. The kind of love that Penelope had - or has - for Josie doesn't just fade away. Something was wrong here and Lizzie had no clue what.

But for now, Lizzie didn't really care. As nosy as she was, it really was none of her business. What she cared about now was helping Penelope. Yes, Penelope. The girl who she had sworn to hate.

She reached out her arm towards Josie in an attempt to get her to stop talking but it was too late. Her hand never made it to Josie's arm. The clearing exploded. Both Lizzie and Josie went flying. 

Penelope's legs failed her. She fell to the floor and curled herself into a little ball. She continued to shake, not because her magic threatening to explode, but from tears. She looked like a child. The twins lay slumped against trees both sore but all together okay. And despite being in utter agony, Lizzie stood up, fighting the urge to groan in pain.

Josie however just lay there as another wave of shock and confusion hit her. However, this time, it was not laced with any anger whatsoever. It was laced with guilt, regret, and shame. 

Josie's state of shock only increased as she watched Lizzie walk towards Penelope, as she watched Lizzie put aside her differences with the raven-haired girl on the floor, kneel down, and pull Penelope into a bone-crushing hug.

Lizzie let out soft words of comfort to the girl she cradled in her arms, a girl who barely resembled the one she saw gliding around the halls. Penelope's arms flung themselves around her and slowly held her. Lizzie doubted that Penelope had the strength to actually hug her back.

Penelope's tears soaked her shirt. Neither of them how much time has passed but Penelope's tears seemed to have gone on for days.

Slowly, Penelope's breath began evening out. It was a mixture of Penelope crying herself to sleep and her exhaustion. Lizzie just continued to hold her, never letting her go until she was sure that Penelope was sound asleep in her arms.

She looked up at Josie who had tears streaming down her face. Lizzie was about to comfort her when she hears footsteps.

She looks up to where she heard them coming from and see's Hope's face covered in panic as she mutters something along the lines of, "I felt the shake."

It was obvious to Lizzie that Hope knew the state that Penelope was and had been in if she knew what had caused the explosion. She watched as Hope walks over to them and lifts up Penelope's unconscious body and pulls the girl into her arms, carrying her like a baby.

"I'm going to bring Penelope back to the school," Hope started, not really knowing what to say, "You guys should head back too."

Neither of the twins responded, only stood up and followed. Hope made a mental note that she would take Penelope to her own room as she thought Penelope would rather not have her roommate see her in this state, and the three, well four of them walked back to the school in silence. 

Hope decided to break the silence as they arrived at the front door.

"I'm bringing her to my room," Hope said, "But I'm going to put a cloaking spell on us along the way so that nobody sees her like this, Penelope wouldn't want that."

The twins only nod in response as they allow Hope to conceal them all with a spell. They walk through the doors, through the halls, and make it to Hope's room. An invisible force opens the door and walks inside. Both twins remain outside and siphon the spell from themselves as they heard the bed creak from Penelope's weight is set down on it.

A now visible Hope walked outside to talk to the two of them.

"Are you two okay?" Hope asked, her voice void of any anger which Josie was worried she may have felt.

"Yea," Lizzie replied, "we're all good."

Josie however could only nod in response, muttering a quick, "I should go," as she turned her back to leave. Hope's hand, however, reached out to grab her wrist. The touch was softer than she expected but still firm.

"Actually, I think you should stay," Hope said kindly rather than accusatory, "you can go in." 

She beckoned towards her room with her head and Josie nodded and entered the room leaving Lizzie and Hope alone outside. She sat down on the couch and waited for Hope to join her.

Outside, Hope looked up at Lizzie.

"Thank you," Hope said softly. When Lizzie looked away, Hope continued, voice stronger this time, "I'm serious, thank you. Not many people would have done that."

Lizzie looked down at Hope, meeting her eyes again. "No problem," She replied, a genuine smile on her face, "I know it's not my place so I'm not even going to ask about... whatever that was," Lizzie continued, motioning to Hope's room where Penelope lay, "but she needs help. I'm not being insensitive here or trying to make a joke, I just wanted to say that she needs you, Hope. You're good to her. Same as Josie is to me."

Hope smiled at that. Hope knew that Lizzie saw a part of herself in Penelope earlier today and that was why she helped her but that didn't stop Hope looking up at Lizzie with what some would call a look of pride.

"Thank you," Hope replied, a twinkle in her eyes as she did so, "have a goodnight."

"Thanks, you too." 

And with that, Lizzie walked back to her room, a bright smile on her face despite what she had just witnessed in the clearing. Hope's face mirrored the same look but she still had to take a deep breath as she walked into her room.

Hope closed the door behind her and walked to her bed, laying down beside Penelope. She looks up and meets Josie's eyes as she takes a second deep breath. This was going to be a long night.


	7. Remember That Talk We Were Going To Have?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Hope goes back into her room, she and Josie have a heart to heart as well as with Penelope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> {This chapter has a lot of dialogue which I'm not all that good at so just bare with me.}

Hope took a deep breath as she opened the door to her room and walked inside knowing what was about to come. She closed the door behind her and walked to her bed, laying down beside Penelope. She looks up and meets Josie's eyes as she takes a second deep breath. This was going to be a long night.

Josie's eyes were red and puffy, it was evident that she had been crying. Hope didn't really know how to approach this as she herself didn't know that much about the situation. She had picked up on bits and pieces and had guessed the rest but she also wasn't sure how much she could really say.

They sat in silence for a few minutes while Hope mulled over what she wanted to say. Josie didn't seem to be in any state to talk as of yet so she didn't mind. Hope was still sitting next to Penelope on her bed with Josie on the small couch in the corner of her room and she wasn't really sure if she should stay where she was or join Josie on the couch. But for now, she decided to stay where she was.

After another few minutes of silence, Hope began repositioning herself on the bed and took a deep breath as she looked right at Josie. 

"So," Hope started, "I don't really know how to do this," _honesty is the best policy, right?_ "but I think we should talk."

Josie gulped as she nodded in return, "Yea," her words were shaky and unsure, "I... Yea." It was clear that Josie didn't really know how to go about this either.

"How much do you know?" Hope asked _That's a safe bet right? Figure out what she knows and fill in some of the blanks?_

"I... Um... Well, I don't really know anything." Josie said, "Deep down I did know that something was wrong but every time that little voice in my head would tell me to go soft on Penelope and read into every sign that she was giving me, another voice would tell me that everything she did was just to play me. That voice won."

Josie sounded a little more sure of herself now so she continued, "I'm selfless to the point where it's a problem. Every time someone needed my help, I help them, but whenever I needed help, I never asked for it because I had to be strong for everybody. So I never really had a healthy outlet for my emotions. When Penelope kissed me on my birthday," Josie paused for thought as she tried to find the words to articulate what she was feeling.

_So that must have been what their fight on Saturday was about. That's why Penelope was a wreck that night right?_

"When she kissed me," Josie repeated, "I found an outlet. After everything that Penelope had done, I didn't feel bad about taking my anger out on her. I practically used her as an emotional punching bag and she was the only one I had so when all signs pointed to her not being okay, I ignored them."

Hope could only nod in response. To be honest, she knew all of this already, she knew that Josie held in her emotions and didn't have a healthy outlet for them. She knew this was why she took it out on Penelope. It didn't make it okay though, she may be Josie's friend, but she was Penelope's friend too, or at least she thought she was. Whatever strange relationship they had could be classed as a friendship.

"I know I hurt her,"

"Yes," Hope thought that honesty was probably the best policy here, there was no way she could lie her way out of this, "you did."

Up until that point, Josie had been quite successfully hiding her sniffles but now, she couldn't. A single tear fell down her face and landed in her lap. She looked down and felt another land next to it, then another and another.

She didn't even notice that Hope had gotten up off her bed until she felt arms wrap around her. Hope's strong arms pulled her into a tight hug and she just let herself be held. 

Her tears soaked through Hope's shirt just like what Penelope had done to Lizzie, and at that moment she felt so small. She just wanted to sink into the floor and never come back, but Hope's arms held her steady. Hope could seriously give Josie a run for her money, she was really good at comforting her friends.

A part of Hope knew that Josie had to go through this pain but she hated watching it and she wanted to help it go away. So she let a stream of comfort fall from her mouth as Josie continued crying, muttering a few phrases here and there that were practically incoherent. 

"S-She-She Hates M-Me," Josie managed to stutter out after a few minutes of mumbling.

Hope's heart broke for the girl in her arms, she just continued to console her because she didn't want to say anything until she knew that Josie was able to understand it.

After a few minutes, Hope let go of the girl in her arms - who's crying had died down - leaving her hand on the girl's shoulder. "Listen, Josie, I'm not gonna lie, you screwed up" Hope started, and Josie let out another sniffle, "but Penelope doesn't hate you, she could never hate you, she-" The words 'She Loves You' nearly fell from her lips but Hope thought that it wasn't her place to say that, "You're you."

Josie only nodded at that, seeming to calm down a bit.

"I don't actually know all that much of the situation to be honest, but I do know that." Hope paused for a second, looking up at Josie, "Do you want to stay?"

"Yea, I think I should talk with Penelope."

"I agree. But now you should sleep, I'll look after Penelope. You look tired." 

Josie didn't argue because her eyelids were drooping and she was fighting to remain awake. She only nodded and laid her head back on the bed before she drifted off.

Hope stood up and walked over to Penelope, she nuzzled herself into the blankets and Penelope, putting her arm around the girl. They stayed that way for at least an hour before Penelope stirred. 

Penelope looked confused regarding her current setting so Hope decided to fill her in, a soft tone to her voice, "I carried you back after your-" Hope didn't really know what to call it, _was it an episode? Was it an explosion? Was it a breakdown? She decided to stick with breakdown,_ "After your breakdown. Josie decided to stay, but she fell asleep."

Penelope only nodded, "Thank you, Hope."

"No problem," Hope paused, choosing her words carefully, "Remember That Talk We Were Going To Have?"

Penelope gulped and nodded, "Vaguely."

Hope didn't respond, just continued to look at her, a silent question passing between them, asking for Penelope to continue.

"I love Josie," Penelope started, it was easy for her to say, "I always have and I always will. I love her more than I love myself and anything else in my life. At the beginning that scared me but that wasn't why I ended things. I ended things because Josie was hurting herself."

Hope looked a bit confused at that, "What do you mean she was hurting herself?"

"I don't mean physically," Penelope rushed to answer, not wanting to give the wrong impression, "I mean mentally. Josie is selfless, you know that. Everybody knows that. It's one of the many, many things I love about her. But she is selfless to a fault. She put's other people's needs above her own to the point where it hurts her."

Hope thought that she could see where this was going but she was going to let Penelope spell it out for her. Penelope needed to get this out.

"She was killing herself every day and it was killing me too. I couldn't watch it. But that wasn't why I left her. I thought that if I broke up with her it would force her to go after something she wanted for once, that it would force her to fight for us. But she didn't."

When Penelope paused, Hope interjected, "So you tried to get her to stand up for herself more right? When you realized she wasn't going to fight for you because she didn't want to go after what she wanted?"

"That was the plan, yes," Penelope replied, nodding, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration, "And after that, well, I don't know, I guess I thought we might get back together? Well, at least I hoped. And even if we didn't, I wanted for her to stand up for herself more."

"But it all fell apart on her birthday. Well not completely. She was there and had nearly died, I was feeling things and I couldn't stop myself so I kissed her. I didn't mean for it to happen but it just kind of did. I couldn't stop myself. Then the next day when she came storming into the library asking about it, I couldn't give her a straight answer. We fought and I broke."

"That's the night I found you in the clearing right?" Hope asked.

"Yes." Penelope nodded.

"Was it the first time it happened?" Hope asked, "That you... broke down I mean."

"No. It happened before, but never that bad." Penelope responded shaking her head, looking dejected.

"And Josie?"

"What about her?" Penelope asked, a little bit confused.

"Do you forgive her?"

Penelope was a bit taken aback by the question, "I... Uh... Well, to be honest, I was never really mad at her. I don't hate her for it, I could never hate her. I love her."

The words fell off her tongue so easily that it seemed reversed. Hope only nodded. If either of them had been paying attention, they would have seen the tear fall from Josie's face, would have heard the slight sniffle from her direction, but neither of them did. She sat as still as a statue and didn't dare move.

"You should go back to sleep Penelope," Hope said, "You need to rest."

"I just did that," Penelope joked but Hope only rolled her eyes, "Fine mom!"

Hope laughed as Penelope snuggled into her side, all dignity forgotten as she was quite literally spooning Hope. 

As she drifted off to sleep, Hope finally looked up at Josie who lifted a hand to wipe her tear. She didn't seem surprised that the girl was awake, Josie mustn't have been as stealthy as she thought.

"How much did you hear?" Hope asked.

Josie slightly jumped, not realizing that Hope knew she was awake. 

"All of it," Josie replied, her voice a little bit shaky, "I heard every word."


	8. Only Person In The World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things go back to normal after Penelope's meltdown. But this time, something was different and Penelope didn't know it. Josie knew her plan, Josie knew that she was still in love with her and finally started noticing the longing looks Penelope shot her when she thought she wasn't looking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> {Disclaimer, this is a little bit of a filler chapter but I kind of had to do it to lead into the next one, but I still hope you enjoy}

"I don't hate her for it, I could never hate her. I love her."

The words fell off her tongue so easily that it seemed rehearsed. Hope only nodded. If either of them had been paying attention, they would have seen the tear fall from Josie's face, would have heard the slight sniffle from her direction, but neither of them did. She sat as still as a statue and didn't dare move.

"You should go back to sleep Penelope," Hope said, "You need to rest."

"I just did that," Penelope joked but Hope only rolled her eyes, "Fine mom!"

Hope laughed as Penelope snuggled into her side, all dignity forgotten as she was quite literally spooning Hope. 

As she drifted off to sleep, Hope finally looked up at Josie who lifted a hand to wipe her tear. She didn't seem surprised that the girl was awake, Josie mustn't have been as stealthy as she thought.

"How much did you hear?" Hope asked.

Josie slightly jumped, not realizing that Hope knew she was awake. 

"All of it," Josie replied, her voice a little bit shaky, "I heard every word."

A comfortable silence ensued between the two of them as they were deep in thought. Hope thought that things were probably better this way. Penelope wouldn't have to spring the information on Josie and get a reaction at the same time. This way, Josie knows everything but has some time to mull over the information without needing to respond.

They sat in silence for about ten minutes before Josie heard soft snoring from Hope and Penelope's direction. And considering that she hadn't heard snoring whilst Penelope was asleep, she assumed that Hope had drifted off.

Josie in fact did not fall asleep, she was still in shock. She began pacing around the room as quietly as she could, still deep in thought. Penelope was still in love with her, the only question was, was she still in love with Penelope.

Yes. She was. She never stopped loving her. No matter how hard she tried, Penelope would always bring her back in. It was the ringlets in her hair, that smirk on her lips, that scrunch on her nose when she laughed. It only made Josie love the girl more.

She guessed that was why it was so easy to take out her anger on the girl and why it was so easy to believe that Penelope was playing her. Because she loved Penelope Park with all her heart, always had and always would.

She decided that she wasn't ready to talk to Penelope. She knew all the information but wasn't quite ready to confront her feelings. She was also pretty sure that Penelope wasn't either. So she decided to write Hope a thank you note for last night and leave.

It was well past midnight at this point, in fact, it was nearly 3:30 in the morning.

Josie managed to sneak through the halls pretty easily with a cloaking spell but sneaking into her room was a whole other story. Lizzie woke up the instant she walked in the door.

Josie managed to close the door behind her and put up a quick silencing spell around them as to not wake up the whole school before she collapsed. 

Lizzie walked over to her and before she made a move to hug her or comfort her, she asked, "What number?" in a soothing voice that Josie rarely heard from her. To be fair, this didn't happen often because it was normally Lizzie who fell apart, not Josie.

Josie took a couple of seconds to collect herself before managing to croak out a single word. "Two."

Lizzie automatically jumped into action. She knelt down and hugged Josie, whispering words of comfort, the same ones she had used with Penelope.

The two of them had a bit of a system in place. Because Josie didn't really know how to express what she wanted when she was hurting, they used a number system. 'One' meant that she just needed to cry, she just needed to curl into a little ball in the corner of her room and be left alone. 'Two' meant that she needed a good hug which was more often than not what she needed. 'Three' meant that she needed to talk it out which was a rare occurrence but did happen from time to time. And 'Four' meant that she needed to put on some Netflix, grab some popcorn and ice cream and eat her heart out with Lizzie beside her.

Today, she just needed a hug, and Lizzie gave that to her. Lizzie wasn't all that good at picking up on when Josie wasn't okay, but when she reached her breaking point and fell apart, Lizzie was always good at comforting her using their number system.

Next time Lizzie checked the clock, it was well past four and Josie had fallen asleep in her arms, she was clearly exhausted. She carried her twin into bed and fell asleep beside her.

__

Hope woke up before Penelope which she was thankful for because she got to read Josie's thank you note without Penelope looking over her shoulder.

_'Thank you for everything, Hope. I'm happy that you are there for Penelope, she needs someone like you. I know I have no right to ask this, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell Penelope that I overheard your conversation, I don't know if either of us would be up to talking about it yet._

_\- Love, Josie'_

Hope smiled, she would indeed, not be telling Penelope that Josie heard their conversation last night. Not because of what Josie had written but because she agreed with her, neither of them was up to that conversation just yet.

Normally she would have training with Alaric but she didn't really feel like leaving Penelope to wake up without her by her side so she messaged him to call it off, saying that she was too tired and he didn't question it.

When Penelope finally woke up, she greeted Hope with a sheepish smile and untangled herself from Hope.

"Thank you," Penelope said, then looked over to the couch and noticed that Josie was no longer there and let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding, "Where did she go?"

"She must have left early in the morning," Hope answered, stuffing the note into her cushion, "we talked last night before you woke up and she fell asleep. She probably had something to do this morning and left, you do know it's like 11 am right?"

Penelope's eyes popped out of her head and Hope let out a snort.

"I'm gonna go ahead and assume you didn't know that," Penelope only rolled her eyes at her, "Did you have plans?"

"Yes, actually," Penelope said, "But it doesn't matter, that's not really what I'm worried about."

Hope looked a little bit confused so Penelope went on, "Well, you see... if I don't respond to people in the mornings and if I disappeared the night before, people are going to assume things."

"What, that you went missing?" Hope asked.

Penelope chuckled at Hope's innocence, "Not exactly."

Hope seemed to understand and her eyes, similar to how Penelope's had done, popped out of her head.

"They're going to think you were with someone." Penelope nodded.

"And if they see me coming out of your room," Penelope continued, "They might think that we had se-"

"Okay okay," Hope practically yelled, cutting her off, "I get it."

Penelope just laughed at Hope, "To be honest, I haven't actually been with a single person since Josie but-" 

"What do you mean?" Hope asked, "What about the rumors?"

"Honestly?" Penelope asked, "That's all they are, rumors. To be fair, I do start them myself just to maintain my reputation."

Hope laughed and Penelope could have sworn she heard Hope mutter 'whipped' under her breath but she chose to ignore it.

When Penelope eventually left Hope's room at around half past, and she put a cloaking spell on herself just in case.

__

Over the following week, Penelope and Hope continued to hang out. Even though nobody had seen Penleop eave Hope's room on Saturday morning, rumors of them being in a relationship followed them everywhere they went, but they didn't seem to care.

To anybody who wasn't looking for it, they wouldn't notice it, but just like what Penelope had done to Hope a few weeks prior, Josie knew that Penelope was avoiding her.

Josie never actively sought Penelope out but whenever the two were in the same room, Penelope would avoid her at all costs. Well, at least that's what it looked like she was doing. But Penelope had been doing that for the past few weeks ever since Josie had confronted her about there kiss. 

What had changed this time, was that Josie could see the looks that Penelope threw her when Penelope thought she wasn't looking. But she was.

She saw the longing looks that Penelope would throw her during classes, during meals, even when she was walking through the halls.

She saw how, when Penelope didn't think she was looking, she would look at Josie like she was the only person in the room. The only person in the world actually. To Penelope, Josie was the most beautiful, wonderful human being to ever walk the earth.

Josie now saw all of this and she couldn't help but fall in love with Penelope Park all over again.

__

On Friday night, when Penelope would normally have been at the weekly party at the old mill, she sat with Hope in her room, eating chips and talking about whatever the hell they wanted to talk about.

"Oh, nuh-uh," Penelope retorted when Hope asked her about when she and Josie were in a relationship, "We are not talking about that unless booze is involved." Hope laughed.

"You were the one who refused to go to the party!"

"Like you would have joined even if I did go," Penelope drawled.

"Seriously Penelope," Hope said, suddenly looking serious.

"What?" Penelope asked, a little confused, "I can go grab my stash of alcohol if you really want to talk about it?"

"No," Hope replied, a little exasperated, "I mean about you not going to the party."

As Penelope was about to respond, Hope interrupted, "And don't say that you just wanted to hang out with me because we both know you love being the center of attention too much for that."

Penelope sighed dejectedly, Hope and her hadn't been friends for that long yet the girl knew her like the back of her hand.

"I know you are avoiding Josie," Hope continued, "But I think it's time that you two talked."

"I know." Penelope looked down at her hands, a little ashamed.

"Just a heads up," Hope said, "She'll be in the library tomorrow afternoon so make sure you're there. You can spend your morning preparing your speech." 

Penelope only laughed, "Okay, fine. But if this goes to hell, then it's all your fault."

The two of them just continued to laugh, make jokes, and poke fun at each other. They seemed like an unlikely friendship but neither of them cared, they loved each other's company. And to be honest, Hope didn't mind Penelope using her as an excuse for avoiding Josie.

Penelope may have laughed it off but she was petrified of talking to Josie tomorrow and was honestly glad that she had the morning to prepare. She was normally cool, calm, and collected but around Josie she was nothing short of a hot mess.


	9. 'I Know'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Penelope and Josie have their 'talk'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't really know what else I can say in the summary without giving away the chapter, so just go ahead and read.

"I know you are avoiding Josie," Hope stated matter of factly, "But I think it's time that you two talked."

"I know." Penelope looked down at her hands, a little ashamed.

"Just a heads up, She'll be in the library tomorrow afternoon so make sure you're there. You can spend your morning preparing your speech," Hope said lightheartedly.

Penelope only laughed, "Okay, fine. But if this goes to hell, then it's all your fault."

The two of them just continued to laugh, make jokes, and poke fun at each other. They seemed like an unlikely friendship but neither of them cared, they loved each other's company. And to be honest, Hope didn't mind Penelope using her as an excuse for avoiding Josie.

Penelope may have laughed it off but she was petrified of talking to Josie tomorrow and was honestly glad that she had the morning to prepare. She was normally cool, calm, and collected but around Josie she was nothing short of a hot mess.

She and Hope stayed up well past 2 am in the morning, talking about everything and nothing. Penelope found it surprisingly easy to talk to Hope. Not just because she hadn't opened up to anyone other than Josie but because Hope had done the same thing.

Just like her, Hope had her walls up and didn't let them down for most people. They were the same. Neither of them had easy lives but they both made it through and maybe that was why they fit together so well.

__

The next morning, Penelope wakes up on Hope's bed with Hope sleeping on the couch. She remembered the two of them deciding that it would be safer if Penelope stayed the night seeing as Dr. Saltzman had just implemented hall monitors and neither of them wanted to deal with detention.

She also remembered fighting over who slept where, neither wanting to take the bed. In the end, Penelope agreed to take the comfy bed over the bumpy couch because Hope had threatened to hex her into oblivion if she didn't. Seeing as Hope was a hell of a lot stronger than her, she stopped putting up a fight.

She turned in her bed, not surprised to see that Hope was no longer there seeing as she had skipped her training last weekend and wouldn't be able to palm it off again.

She felt oddly relaxed despite having this lingering feeling that she should be anything but. 

Then she remembered. She remembered how she was supposed to have her 'talk' with Josie this afternoon in the library. It was just about lunchtime and she hadn't prepared whatsoever so her nerves were completely understandable in her opinion.

The only thing stopping her from full-on collapsing in on herself was the message that Hope had sent her this morning as she was scrolling through her phone.

_'I know you're scared about this afternoon, but trust me, everything will be fine. Good luck!'_

Truth be told, she did trust Hope. So she let herself calm down just a bit. Was she still dying inside? Well... yes, but it was manageable.

During the entirety of her lunch, she was out of it. Her friends - well, minions really - noticed too but knew better than to question her about it, knowing where that would get them. i.e, nowhere.

She stood up at the end of lunch, intending to head to the library on her own but apparently, there was no chance of that happening. About 8 of the girls stood up to follow her. This meant that not only did she need to figure out what the hell she was going to say to Josie but she also had to figure out how to pull her out of the library without her entire possy figuring out something was up.

__

"Honestly Josie," Lizzie whined, walking into the library with her twin, "you should have said yes. You two would be so cute going to the formal together. Power couple, you know?"

"I'm not going to say yes okay!" Josie managed to squeak out, cheeks going red at how Lizzie was practically letting the whole school know that she had just turned down Rafael to the spring formal. 

"Why not?" Lizzie drawled, drawing out her words, punctuation them with a pout.

Josie was fed up with it, she didn't want to have to explain to her own sister why she had turned him down.

Penelope tried to keep her head down when she overheard the two talking but she failed. She began staring unashamedly at Josie. Truth be told, up until she had heard the two of them talking as they made their way into the library, she had completely forgotten about the formal. 

_'Why not?'_ Josie mulled these words over in her head. Why not? She knew why, but to her knowledge, Lizzie knew nothing of the progressions in her relationship with Penelope so she didn't really know how to respond.

"You used to like him didn't you?" Lizzie whined.

Josie was caught. She didn't know what to say. She looked up to where she knew Penelope was sitting and wasn't surprised to see that the raven-haired girl was staring right back at her. The corner's of Josie's lips turned up slightly as she made eye contact with Penelope, an idea popping her into her head.

Still looking Penelope dead in the eyes, she answered Lizzie's question, "I'm already going with somebody."

Penelope's jaw visibly dropped as she understood what Josie was insinuating here. That they were going _together_.

Josie turned her back on Lizzie before she had time to see her jaw drop too as she practically strutted out of the Library.

Penelope got out of her chair, a strange look on her face, completely ignoring the questions the girls asked her about where she was going because, to be honest, she didn't really know. All she knew was that she needed to find Josie.

As she left the library, she saw Josie turn a corner just ahead of her and make her way to the courtyard just outside of the school walls. Penelope followed her like a lovesick puppy.

Neither of them got to see the smug smile on Lizzie's face as they walked out. Lizzie's jaw, in fact, had not dropped when Josie had said she was going with someone else, insinuating that she was going with Penelope. Lizzie may have a weird way of showing it, but she did love her sister and she could pick up on what was happening with her love life better than anything else. She couldn't help but feel proud of herself for finally getting the two of them to talk it out.

__

As Penelope walked out of the school's doors and entered the courtyard, she was expecting to have to search for Josie, but to her surprise, Josie was standing just beside the doors, waiting for her.

Penelope's heart was pounding out of her chest and she could swear she was about to spontaneously combust.

For a good minute, neither of them said a word, not knowing what exactly to say. Penelope had actually prepared for this but all that went out the window as she lost herself in Josie's chocolate brown.

She didn't really know where to start. She immediately flashed back to when she had her talk with hope. _'I love Josie. I always have and I always will.'_ that's what she had started with but she thought maybe easing Josie into it was a better idea.

"Listen, Josie," She started, not really knowing where she was going with this but was saved by Josie who interrupted her.

"I know."

"What?" Penelope managed to stutter out, confusion etched across her face as well as a twinge of fear. What did Josie know?

"That night... after your breakdown..." Josie started, fumbling over her words a little, "I heard you."

"Oh." Penelope didn't really know how to feel. She had worn her heart on her sleeve that night and didn't want to put herself out there like that for fear of rejection. For fear of not being enough for Josie like she wasn't enough for her parents, but Josie managed to wipe the fear from her face with four simple words.

"I love you too."

Penelope's ears were ringing. She knew what she thought she had just heard but she must have heard wrong. 

"What?" Penelope asked, a dazed look on her face.

Josie chuckled a little bit at how adorable Penelope looked in that moment but decided to relieve Penelope of her confusion and repeated herself, her words firmer and stronger the second time around.

"I love you too."

"You do?" Penelope sounded like a child. She wasn't sure if Josie was joking or not, this felt too good to be true.

"I do," Josie replied instantly.

The widest, goofiest smile Penelope had ever worn covered her face from one side to the other, and in that moment, Josie thought that Penelope was the most precious thing in the world.

They had both said it before but this time felt different. This time it felt like they were the only two people in the world. This time, neither of them wanted the moment to ever end.

Then, before Josie could think, before she could get any words out, before she could stop herself, she bent her head down to the shorter girl and kissed her.

Penelope just stood there shocked for a second before she melted into the kiss and managed to reciprocate it. But just as she did, Josie pulled away and Penelope chased her lips.

"Wait," Josie managed to get out, her cheeks flushed with red, "there was something I needed to say."

In that moment, Penelope didn't really care what Josie had to say because she felt like she was about to pass out from shock but she just nodded her head dumbly, still clinging onto Josie's face like the end of the world would come around if she let go. But in her defense, Josie was doing the same thing with Penelope's waist.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for the way I treated you, you didn't deserve it-" But Penelope cut her off.

"I don't care, I forgive you," Penelope said, staring into Josie's eyes with a soft look on her face, her walls completely torn down by the girl standing in front of her.

"How?" Josie asked, she didn't get it, "I hurt you. I never saw that you weren't okay or that I was the one making you that way." Josie was rambling.

"Jojo," Penelope said, a cute smile on her face, "I'll always forgive you."

"But-" and she was cut off yet again, Penelope wasn't going to let her tear herself down for this.

"I gave you every reason to hate me. I forgive you. You don't need to apologize."

Josie seemed to accept it and nodded sadly, looking down at the floor. Penelope watched as Josie did this and used the hand that was cupping her face to bring her eyes back to her own.

She didn't need to talk, she didn't need to say a word. All she did was bring Josie's face down to hers. All of Josie's shame was forgotten as Penelope pulled her into a heart-wrenching kiss.

They both melted into it and got lost in each other. Neither of them cared that there were other students watching, staring. They didn't care at all. The only thing that they cared about was each other, and that they had found their way back together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So now there is only one chapter left, I'm really enjoying writing this FIC so I was wondering if you guys might want me to add an extra chapter so that I could do a bit of an epilogue? Let me know if you might want that :)


	10. Best Night Of Their Lives.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope, Josie, and Penelope spend time together before the upcoming formal which turned out to be the best night of their lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> {Warning: FLUFF AHEAD}

"How?" Josie asked, the guilt consuming her, "I hurt you. I never saw that you weren't okay or that I was the one making you that way."

"Jojo," Penelope said, a cute little smile on her face, "I'll always forgive you."

"But-" and she was cut off yet again, Penelope wasn't going to let her tear herself down for this.

"I gave you every reason to hate me. I forgive you. You don't need to apologize."

Josie seemed to accept it and nodded sadly, looking down at the floor. Penelope watched as Josie did this and used the hand that was cupping her face to bring her eyes back to her own.

She didn't need to talk, she didn't need to say a word. All she did was bring Josie's face down to hers. All of Josie's shame was forgotten as Penelope pulled her into a heart-wrenching kiss.

They both melted into it and got lost in each other. Neither of them cared that there were other students watching, staring. They didn't care at all. The only thing that they cared about was each other, and that they had found their way back together.

They stayed that way for a long time. When they finally pulled apart, they rested their forehead together, staring into each other's eyes.

When they walked back through the school doors, they did it hand in hand. They didn't really have a destination, but they somehow managed to make it to the door to Josie's room and stopped right outside it.

"Penelope," Josie started, the most adorable smile on her face, "Would you do me the honor of being my date to the formal?"

By this point, Penelope had regained a portion of her usual air of superiority and her level of flirt, so she managed to keep a straight face when she replied, "Obviously," and didn't faint from shock.

__

Penelope skipped towards Hope's room, ignoring the strange looks everybody was sending her, too happy in that moment to care whatsoever. When she arrived, she knocked but got no response so she undid the lock with a quick spell.

She walked towards the bed and flopped onto it, staring at the ceiling, replaying the events of the day in her head and pinching herself a few times just to make sure that she wasn't dreaming. She was too immersed in her own thoughts that she didn't notice Hope walking into the room ten minutes later and jumping when she saw Penelope on her bed.

Hope muttered something about Penelope scaring her but the raven-haired girl still hadn't noticed her standing their. Hope stared curiously at the girl, remembering how she was supposed to talk with Josie today. And from the wide smile on Penelope's face, she fathered that it went well.

"I take it the talk went well?" Hope asked, chuckling as she sat down on the edge of her bed, startling Penelope.

"Oh, hi," Penelope blushed as she finally took notice of Hope and sat up on her bed, "Yes, it went well."

"Oh come on," Hope drawled sarcastically, "You're gonna need to give me more than that, plus I can tell that you're dying to tell me, or someone at least so spit it out!"

Penelope laughed at how well the girl could read her and began recounting the events of that afternoon. Hope was on the edge of her seat for the entirety of the recount and by the time she finished, Hope had a wide smile on her face too, she was happy for Penelope. At least one of them deserved a happy ending, right?

"And now, you're taking her to the formal?" Hope asked confidant she knew the answer, only asking to get a reaction out of Penelope.

"Yup," Penelope replied, acting like a child. The most adorable child anybody had ever laid eyes on in Hope's opinion.

Hope muttered 'whipped' under her breath at this reaction from Penelope and ended up with a pillow in her face. Penelope was a literal two year old and Hope loved her for it. (in the least romantic way possible)

__

Over the following two weeks leading up to the formal, Hope and Penelope continued hanging out. Since she and Josie were Hope's only two friends and Josie was now dating Penelope again, Josie tended to join them.

Neither Penelope nor Josie minded having Hope as a third wheel and Hope didn't mind being one. 

A few hours before the formal, Penelope and Hope was sitting on the latter's bed, waiting for Josie to return to the room. As soon as Josie had left, Penelope began rambling on about how annoying Lizzie had been that day, not wanting to trash talk Josie's twin to her face.

"She's not that bad Penelope," Hope started.

"Oh no, not you too!" Penelope exclaimed, laughing, "It's bad enough that I can't dish on Lizzie in front of Josie but now you're sticking up for her? I thought you were on my side here!"

Hope only laughed, "Honestly, Penelope, she hasn't been that bad since the two of you got together. Baby steps right?"

"Buh buh buh," Penelope interjected, a wide grin on her face, Hope had just left the door right open for her to poke fun at the auburn-haired girl, "keep talking like that and I'll start questioning if my gaydar was off when I thought you were straight."

This only earned Penelope another pillow to the face and an embarrassed Hope.

"I'm serious Hope," Penelope said, a pretend stern look on her face, "the only person I've ever heard talk about Lizzie like that was MG and he was in love with her!"

Another pillow was thrown at her face but she was ready for it and caught it. What she wasn't ready for was the deep blush that now covered Hope's face. Apparently the pillow's had been a cover-up for the blood rushing to Hope's cheeks.

Penelope instantly connected the dots, faster than humanly possible.

"Oh my god!" Penelope shouted, genuinely shocked for once. She did not see this coming but thinking back it did make a whole lot of sense.

Josie ran into the room at that exact moment, having heard the scream.

"What happened?" Josie asked, closing the door behind her, a concerned look on her face.

"Hope's in love with Lizzie." There was zero malice behind Penelope's words, just pure shock. A look of shock that was mirrored on Josie's face as her jaw dropped. As Josie looked over at Hope for confirmation, she received no witty comeback from her like she would have expected if this were just some joke. Instead what she saw was a blush covering her face, a deeper red than she thought was possible. A knowing look flitted across her face and a wide smile followed.

Penelope looked up at her in confusion at the knowing look but Josie only mouthed 'later' in response.

"So," Josie started, in an attempt to save Hope from her current situation - which Josie found adorable by the way - she changed the subject, "Did you hear that Dr. Williams and Emma are now a thing?"

The three of them continued that way for another half hour, talking and gossiping about everything and nothing. Eventually, Josie left to go get ready and Penelope stayed to get ready with Hope who they were dragging with them to the formal.

Penelope and Hope's process of getting ready included a lot of Penelope poking fun at Hope and a lot of pillow throwing on Hope's end.

They did manage it though. In the end, Hope stood in front of the mirror in a long, loose, maroon dress that matched her hair, skin, and eyes perfectly. Penelope on the other hand had opted for a tight-fitting, black dress that hugged her curves perfectly. Penelope was always into showing skin, a whole lot more than Hope.

__

Hope and Penelope arrived at the dance before the twins. Hope, not having a date, left as soon as Josie arrived, allowing Penelope and Josie to have their moment. 

Penelope stood at the bottom of the stairs waiting for Josie to come into full view. But to her surprise, Lizzie didn't have anybody waiting at the bottom of the stairs for her, and she didn't seem mad about it either. 

As Josie walked down the steps and came into full view, Penelope's jaw dropped and her whole body went slack. The composure she had seemingly regained around Josie over the past few weeks vanished. Josie was wearing a beautiful white dress. It was mid-length on her legs and wasn't too flowy but wasn't tight either. It was very Josie in Penelope's opinion.

"You look beautiful," Penelope said, awe in her eyes.

Seeing the state that Penelope was currently in, Josie decided to take the lead. She put her arm around Penelope and led the two of them onto the dance floor. 

A mixture of songs were playing in the background but neither of them was really listening. They both swayed along to the rhythm and stared into each other's eyes, both of them grinning from ear to ear. 

After a few songs, they decided to sit down at a table. They joked together about the crappy music and the awkward couples surrounding them as the dance went on, neither of them ever leaving the other's side.

When the song, 'when you say nothing at all' came on, Penelope stood up from Josie's lap, reaching her hand out to the girl. "May I have this dance?" She asked in a charming voice with a smirk on her lips.

"Yes you may," Josie replied, taking Penelope's hand. 

The lyrics started as the two of them walked towards the dance floor and swayed together.

_It's amazing how you_ _  
Can speak right to my heart.  
Without saying a word,  
_ _You can light up the dark._

Just as the pre-chorus started playing, Josie's attention lingered elsewhere. She nudged Penelope in the side at motioned towards where Hope was sitting.

_Try as I may I could never explain,_ _  
_ _What I hear when you don't say a thing._

The two of them watched as the chorus started and Lizzie reached her hand out for Hope to take.

_The smile on your face lets me know that you need me,  
_ _There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me,_ _  
_ _The touch of your hand says you'll catch me wherever I fall,_ _  
_ _You say it best_ _  
_ _When you say nothing at all._

As the chorus played, they watched Hope follow Lizzie onto the dance floor, a dazed look in her eyes.

"That's what you were smiling about earlier right?" Penelope questioned, chuckling at how much Hope resembled a lovesick puppy in that moment, "When I told you that Hope was in love with Lizzie?"

"I may have given her a push towards finally making a move, yes," Josie replied casually but looked all together rather proud of herself.

"You sly devil," Penelope laughed.

The two of them returned to each other and yet again got lost in the other's eyes. The chocolate of Josie's deep brown eyes meeting the grass green of Penelope's.

"I love you," Penelope said, a look of pure bliss on her face.

"I love you too," Josie replied, the look of joy on Penelope's face now mirrored on hers.

Just as the second to last chorus began playing, Josie brought their lips together and kissed the shorter girl with a passion unmatched by anybody else in the room except perhaps Penelope who tugged Josie's head down further so that she didn't have to stand on her tippy toes.

They molded together perfectly and never wanted to break apart but at some point, the need for oxygen became too strong and they rested their foreheads on each other.

As the two of them broke apart, Lizzie bent down to the shorter girl she was dancing with and tentatively kissed her. Hope just stood there shocked for a second before immediately reciprocating the kiss with a passion that could rival Josie and Penelope's. They too only broke apart once the need for oxygen overcame them and they exchanged conversation that neither Josie nor Penelope could hear but neither really cared. 

In all honesty, despite having a clear view of the couple, Josie and Penelope were too immersed in each other to have noticed anything going on around them and therefore didn't take notice of their conversation or the kiss the two had just shared.

Penelope couldn't believe that the girl standing before her was her's. She just couldn't believe it, it seemed too good to be true. What she didn't know was that Josie was thinking the very same thing. They both thought that the other was the most beautiful girl to walk the planet and they never wanted to break apart.

So they didn't. They kept swaying together for the rest of the night, even when the crowd started to thin out. Even when they were the only two left and the DJ was gone. They just played their own music and continued to sway in each other's arms.

It was the best night of their lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's kind of difficult to write fluff without it being too cheesy but I hope you enjoyed it. I also decided to include a bit of Hizzie in here because the conversation where Penelope made fun of Hope for being in love with Lizzie just popped into my head and I thought it would be cute.


	11. Epilogue - Or was it?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dance had been the best night of their lives. Or had it been? Because in Josie's opinion, this night definitely topped it. (6 years later epilogue)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> {For all intents and purposes, Hope is the same age as the rest of them}

"I love you," Penelope said, a look of pure bliss on her face.

"I love you too," Josie replied, the look of joy on Penelope's face now mirrored on hers.

Just as the second to last chorus of the song began playing, Josie brought their lips together and kissed the shorter girl with a passion unmatched by anybody else in the room except perhaps Penelope who tugged Josie's head down further so that she didn't have to stand on her tippy toes.

They molded together perfectly and never wanted to break apart but at some point, the need for oxygen became too strong and they rested their foreheads on each other.

Penelope couldn't believe that the girl standing before her was her's. She just couldn't believe it, it seemed too good to be true. What she didn't know was that Josie was thinking the very same thing. They both thought that the other was the most beautiful girl to walk the planet and they never wanted to break apart.

So they didn't. They kept swaying together for the rest of the night, even when the crowd started to thin out. Even when they were the only two left and the DJ was gone. They just played their own music and continued to sway in each other's arms.

It was the best night of their lives.

Or was it? Because in Josie's opinion, the night of their sixth anniversary definitely topped it.

__

(6 years later) 

Penelope and Josie stayed together throughout the rest of high school with barely any rough patches. They were the school's power couple and Josie was the only person ever known to turn the big, bad, Penelope into a flustered mess. Whilst Josie still had to work on her confidence around the school, around Penelope, she needed no boost. When Penelope told her she was beautiful she believed it, and that was enough for her.

Hope and Lizzie however, did go through their rough patches, serious rough patches. Hope's little Martyr problem tended to get in the way a little bit but that wasn't really the issue. The problem was Hope not thinking she was enough. Josie and Hope were quite similar in that regard. Despite what everyone would tell her, she struggled to believe that she wasn't cursed and she tried to push Lizzie away. But Lizzie was far too stubborn for that and just like Penelope and Josie, they made it out the other end.

It was Penelope and Josie's six-year anniversary. Well, technically. They had decided that the relationship they had before Penelope broke up with Josie didn't count towards the date and henceforth decided to use the dates from the second time around.

Penelope and Josie were walking out of the fancy, Italian restaurant they had just eaten at, laughing over the names of the Italian foods and how silly they sounded. Although that part of the night was planned, the rest of the night was a surprise for Josie.

Penelope had been waiting for this moment for years, quite literally years. Two to be exact. Two years ago, before their four year anniversary, Penelope had asked Lizzie about proposing to Josie and Lizzie had been ecstatic about the idea but she ended up chickening out and got mentally and emotionally beat up about it by Lizzie.

When their five year anniversary rolled around, she had planned on doing it again. And she chickened out. This time, Lizzie just laughed at her and made fun of her for it (in the nicest way possible). Hope however was more the consoling type, trying to help Penelope figure out why she kept chickening out. But Penelope already knew why she kept doing this. It was her fear of rejection.

As much as she tried to get over that girl she was in high school who commanded attention and power, a part of that stuck up bitch still stayed with her. What nobody knew was that behind that stuck up bitch was a scared young girl, terrified of being alone.

This year, however, she was determined to do it. She had the ring in the pocket the cape she was wearing, invisible to Josie.

As they left their restaurant, Penelope led them to a small park off-limits to the public that she had bought out for the night. She had a picnic planned out with a few little snacks and some expensive red wine. There were lights having all over the trees, perfectly lighting up their little area.

Josie's mouth dropped, the scene was beautiful, as was the view they got. 

Penelope didn't really have a speech planned despite having 2 years to do so. She knew Josie liked the shy version of her so she thought that an on the spot speech would be more romantic to her. 

Josie looked so beautiful that night - well every night really - but tonight, Penelope just couldn't believe how lucky she was. Penelope always knew that she herself was good looking because literally all of her minions would tell her and nobody ever said anything otherwise. With Josie on the other hand, she never really believed it when people would tell her that she was pretty which Penelope simply didn't understand. So every time Josie was feeling self-conscious, she would be there to tell her how amazingly beautiful she was.

The two of them stood up and were preparing to clean up the picnic around an hour after they had arrived. As Josie turned to get another look at the view, Penelope thought to herself that this was her moment. This was it.

She knelt down, her heart pounding in her chest. She swore that she was about to spontaneously combust. As Josie turned around to see her, she somehow managed to chicken out again, turning towards the blanket on the floor and folding it up. She was internally cursing herself for doing it but she was just too much of a coward. 

Josie gave Penelope a stage look that the latter couldn't see when she turned around. Josie thought she had seen... well she was sure that she was about to... that Penelope was going to... Well, that Penelope was about to propose. She thought Penelope was about to propose. She was about to say something when Penelope finally stood up with everything they had brought in her hands.

Penelope led the two of them to Penelope's car that she had somebody bring from the restaurant to the park and she motioned for Josie to get in. Penelope went to the back to put her things in the trunk of the car leaving Josie to contemplate what just happened.

The ride back to their apartment was filled with music and a lot of singing along to their favorite songs. Penelope was very good at covering up her fear majority of the time - most of the time using music as a cover-up - but Josie could read her like she read the Harry Potter books and she knew something was up.

When they got home, Josie kissed Penelope as a thank you for what she had prepared that night before walking upstairs to change into her pajamas for their movie night. At least that's what she told Penelope she was doing. She just had to check something. She had to be sure.

Josie hid behind the door frame with a clear view of Penelope. The shorter girl pulled something invisible from the front pocket of her cape and undid the spell concealing it with shaking hands. A tiny little black, velvet box appeared out of thin air and Josie shrieked from behind Penelope starling her.

"I KNEW IT!" Josie screamed with glee, causing Penelope to blush and hurry to hide away the box. This, however, did not work since her hands were shaking so violently she couldn't do a thing.

Penelope tried to hide her face from Josie but the brunette was not having it. "Why didn't you ask me?" Josie asked with a curious voice. Josie already knew what her answer was without Penelope having got to ask and genuinely didn't know what was stopping Penelope.

Penelope yet again tried to shield her face from Josie, tears threatening to fall before she managed to choke out, "I was scared you would say no."

Anybody who didn't know Penelope at that moment would have tried to console her, but Josie knew how Penelope worked and at that moment, all she really needed was encouragement.

"Well you never know until you ask," Josie said, a flirty air about her voice.

Penelope laughed at that, her fear slowly fading away as she managed to regain control of her hands.

"I expect an embarrassing and romantic speech too by the way" Josie added teasingly as Penelope finally got down on one knee.

Penelope could only laugh, "Embarrassing? Yes. Romantic? We'll see."

Penelope then took a deep breath and started. She hadn't planned this but she always knew how it would go.

"Josie," Penelope started.

"Penelope," Josie responded sarcastically. Penelope only responded with a quick glare before laughing.

"I've loved you since we were fifteen years old. You taught me what loving someone was. Not only in a romantic way but loving someone period. I never had a family as you did, never had anybody to put above myself."

"Oh, you still never put anybody above yourself," Josie joked.

"Touche, Jojo, Touche. Where was I? Oh yeah," Penelope laughed at herself getting back on track with a cute little smile on her face, "I had planned on going through highschool alone. All of my friends weren't really friends, they were more so followers. But all that changed when you walked into my life."

"You changed me. You made me care about someone other than myself. As much as I tried to hide the good in me, you managed to find it."

"It was rather difficult to be fair," Josie commented teasingly.

"Hey, no fair," Penelope responded, "I was on a roll here."

"Okay, continue." By this point tears of pure joy were welling up in Josie's eyes and they were threatening to fall.

"The moment you walked into my life I knew I was a goner. I've loved you since the day that I met you and I will never stop loving you. Which is why," Penelope continued, prying open the little black box in her hands, "I was wondering if you would do me the honor of being my wife?"

Josie's jaw dropped. She knew this was coming but somehow seeing it play out in front of her eyes nearly had her fainting from shock.

"Josette Oliva Saltzman," Penelope's grass green eyes were now looking directly into Josie's chocolate brown eyes, "Will you marry me? 

It took a second for Josie to respond, but once she managed to unfreeze, she managed to squeak out a cute little "Yes," tears streaming through her eyes. She held out her hand to Penelope who breathed a sigh of relief and put a diamond ring on it. It was minimalistic but beautiful, exactly the type of ring Josie would have bought for herself.

Penelope stood up and hugged Josie with all the strength she could muster and when they finally broke apart, Josie pulled her in for a searing kiss. 

It was the best night of their lives.

__

The next day, the newly engaged couple thought that they should probably call Hope and Lizzie and let them know what happened, something they entirely forgot about the previous night.

Penelope called Hope first and Josie was walking into the room next door to call Lizzie.

The moment Hope picked up the phone, she put the question to her, "Did you do it?" she asked excitedly.

"Yuh-huh!" Penelope exclaimed.

"Wait," Hope started, a little shocked, "You did? You actually did it?"

"Yup!" Penelope replied, unable to keep the glee from her voice.

"Fantastic," Hope muttered happily which left Penelope a little confused before she heard Hope yell to someone 'Hey babe, you owe me a milkshake!'

"You bet on me?" Penelope asked laughing.

"Obviously, I had complete faith in you. Lizzie on the other hand thought you would chicken out again. She's gone to the bedroom to call Josie."

Rather than recounting the story to Hope, she told her to come over once Josie was off the phone with Lizzie. Once the two hung up their call, Penelope began cleaning up the place a little bit before Josie came storming down the stairs with a sneer on her face.

"So you mean to tell me," Josie teased, pointing her finger right at Penelope, "That you've been holding out on this proposal for two years?"

Penelope blushed and looked away, a little embarrassed. "Lizzie wasn't supposed to tell you that," Penelope muttered causing Josie to laugh.

"You're cute when you're embarrassed," Josie said, still laughing.

"I am not cute! I am hot!" Penelope protested.

"Uh- Yes you are," Penelope was about to protest further but then she heard the doorbell ring and let Josie go and get it. Hope and Lizzie lived right around the corner from the two of them so it was only a one-minute walk to get there.

The four of them ate lunch together and spent the majority of the meal making fun of Penelope which she wasn't all too happy about. As Josie and Penelope stood up to collect everyone's plates and bring them o the sink, they gave each other a look and nodded.

Josie brought Lizzie to a separate room leaving Hope and Penelope in the dining room.

"What's all this about?" Hope asked casually although she was pretty sure she had an idea.

"Mikaelson," Penelope started.

"Park," Hope returned teasingly.

"You and Josie are so alike," Penelope mumbled under her breath before continuing, "Hope, I was wondering if you would do me the honor of being my, well, maid of honor?"

Hope sprung herself onto Penelope and hugged her tightly, practically chocking Penelope, tears streaming from her eyes as she did so.

"I'll take that as a yes then?" Penelope asked sarcastically.

"Yes," Hope laughed, wiping away her tears.

It was at that moment that they both heard Lizzie shriek from the neighboring room.

"You've got your work cut out for you my friend," Penelope joked, "You're gonna have to plan a wedding with her." She emphasized her point by motioning to the room where Josie and Lizzie were talking.

"Actually, I think I'm all good," Hope added, thinking out loud, "I'm pretty sure she is just going to do all of the work herself."

Penelope laughed at Hope, she was right, there was no way that Lizzie was going to co-operate with anybody - even Hope - when it came to planning her sister's wedding.

__

"I now pronounce you married," their marriage officiate said happily, "You may kiss the bride."

And so she did. Penelope leaned in, cupping Josie's face with her hands, she pulled Josie down towards her and kissed her. Josie leaned in with a matching passion as she smiled into the kiss. 

She could hear clapping in the background. She could hear a 'whoop' coming from Hope's direction and tears of joy from Lizzie's. She eventually pulled away from Josie to see Alaric and Caroline in the front row with tears streaming down their cheeks, bright smile's on their faces. 

She saw mirroring look's on MG's face, on Rafael's, on Landon's, on Kaleb and Kim's, on Jed's and everybody else in the crowd.

At that moment, walking back along the aisle hand in hand, she and Josie both changed their minds. THIS was the best night of their lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all of your support, it genuinely means to world to me :)
> 
> I am only fifteen years old so I really don't have anything better to do this summer other than do more writing so I was wondering if you had any suggestions for another FIC. I was thinking about doing my take on how Penelope and Josie originally got together in the first place (But that they never end up breaking up and that the merge doesn't exist because I love Posie too much for that). But if you have any other ideas let me know, I'm open to suggestions :)

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think :)


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